Angela's First Home03:07

Photos

Milk Glass Urns on a Side Table in a Living Room

Heather Hogan Roberts, an interior designer, pulled books from the homeowner’s collection and arranged them by color. A pair of blue milk glass urns, from an Atlanta consignment shop for $4, are so pretty that they can be used empty.

Tags:

DIY Hardwood Headboard with an Arched Top

For this low-budget DIY headboard project, a jigsaw is needed to cut the shape of the top into an arch. Lowe’s describes this round-top headboard project as requiring intermediate skill and says it can be accomplished in a weekend.

Photo By: Lowe's

Gray Mid-century Modern Small Kitchen

Go for a high-gloss effect. A smaller group of gray Ikea cabinets, used in an Atlanta mid-century modern kitchen, gives a steel sheen to the space, which was previously designed by Brian Patrick Flynn as his personal residence.

Tags:

Chic Bathroom Caddy with a Rustic Look

Turn an old wooden box into a caddy for your bath and body essentials, or stock it full of travel toiletries for overnight guests. Hang the finished bath caddy in your bathroom, or the guest bathroom, and fill with a variety of bath and body potions only an arm's length away from the tub or shower.

Tags:

DIY Bedroom Headboard

A wide bookcase like this is the perfect size to go behind a full-sized bed. “There's just enough room to access storage on either side,” says Atlanta DIYer and stylist Jo Torrijos, who blogs at A Simpler Design.

Tags:

After: Bedroom Makeover with Neutral Palette

After a makeover by Terracotta Design Build, the “room with a bed in it” is transformed into a neutral retreat that’s far from boring. “If your bedroom looks like a dorm room, the first thing you have to do is add a headboard, and it will be immediately grown up,” says Ili Hidalgo-Nilsson, architect and designer with Terracotta Design Build in Atlanta. Keeping the walls and furniture neutral allows you to infuse color with pillows and lamps, which can be changed out more affordably.

Tags:

Before: Lackluster Kid's Room

Give kids rooms they can grow with. Egypt Sherrod worked with AmericasMart to makeover the children’s rooms in this Dwell with Dignity project. She says her main goal was to create a comfortable space for the kids that reflected their personalities that they wouldn’t outgrow too quickly.

Tags:

Tribal End Table in Decorated Living Room

The elephant end table, purchased for $40 at a thrift store, is one of designer Heather Hogan Roberts' favorite finds. “They add a fun little flair to the room,” she says. She adds that pieces like these are easy to paint to fit any decor and are sturdy enough to go outside as well.

Tags:

DIY Headboard Under Construction

Making the storage headboard requires materials such as plywood and tools including a circular saw and a miter saw. The Lowe’s project can be done over the weekend, and it’s best if you have an intermediate skill level.

Photo By: Lowe's

About the Show

My First Place
follows a set of first-time buyers and their realtor along the stress-filled, yet exciting, search for the perfect home. Get the latest info on financing in a down market, plus proven know-how straight from the real estate professionals.

Episodes

Marla and Mike are buying a house together in Pittsburgh before they are engaged. Despite every intention of getting married, Marla's family doesn't like the idea of them committing to a mortgage before they commit to each other. They find what they think is the perfect house, but tensions rise just days before signing on the dotted line. Will this young couple seal the deal or is this all happening too fast?

Kelly and Phabian have already made 8 offers in their search for a place for their family in Livermore, CA, but are still waiting for a ''yes.'' Just when they think their luck is changing, they get bad news about their dream house. The couple must face big decisions if they are to achieve their goal of home ownership.

After Audra and Brian adopted 4 siblings, their 1,000-square-foot rental very quickly became cramped. An exhausting and indecisive home search finally unearthed a hidden gem. Unfortunately no one can come to terms with closing costs. The realtors make one last ditch effort to close the deal, but will it be too little too late?

Paul is a single dad who wants to buy a cool first place in Austin so that he can give his teenage son a permanent home. But will his variable incomelimit their search to the cheap properties? Or can they find the perfect place and still come in under-budget?

Fresh out of the Air Force, Chris and Melissa are looking for a house where they can expand their family in Plano, Texas. His determination to get a good deal conflicts with her tendency to fall for every good-looking house they see. After battling each other for negotiation supremacy, bad luck befalls the couple not once, but twice, as deal breakers rear their ugly heads. Will the third time be the charm, or will their dream of homeownership get tabled?

Daniel and Bret are at odds over their priorities: one wants a large house, the other, a large yard for their dogs. When existing homes don't fit the bill, they look at new-builds. Will they find a place they both love, or will someone have to compromise?

Andrea and Mike's lease is up in 8 weeks but they haven't even started their home search! The couple is determined to buy so they put an offer on the second home they see but continue to look in the Dallas area. The third house they see is truly their style with all their must-haves so they put another offer in on this house. While their first offer doesn't work out their second offer looks hopeful until they realize the seller isn't really willing to negotiate. Will they be able to reach common ground before they're kicked to the curb?

Courtney and her French husband, Benoit, are on deadline to buy their first place before their first baby arrives. After looking at several Pittsburgh homes and disagreeing completely on their style, the couple has some compromising to do. But will this expectant couple agree on a home before their bundle of joy arrives?

Ellen and Dan's apartment looks more like a sporting goods store than a home, thanks to their bikes, golf clubs and gear. The couple sets out to find their first place in the north suburbs of Pittsburgh, only to realize their budget and looming deadline could kill the deal and destroy their plans of home ownership.

Aaron and his girlfriend, Ashley, will only buy a home in one specific neighborhood in Dallas called Lake Ridge Estates. The problem affordable homes in the area rarely come on the market and when they do are snatched up quickly. When they finally find a home in the neighborhood, someone puts an offer in before them and they lose the house. Their realtor takes them to another home in area and they immediately decide to put in an offer. Unfortunately at the same exact moment a competing offer comes in so the are now in a bidding war. Will they finally win this fight or will their search never end?

Fresh out of the Air Force, Chris and Melissa are looking for a house where they can expand their family in Plano, Texas. His determination to get a good deal conflicts with her tendency to fall for every good-looking house they see. After battling each other for negotiation supremacy, bad luck befalls the couple not once, but twice, as deal breakers rear their ugly heads. Will the third time be the charm, or will their dream of homeownership get tabled?

A Baltimore couple, Carlton and Taisha, don't have time to waste in finding a new home. Their rent is skyrocketing and they need out before their lease is up. So why do they continue to 'sleep on it' before making an offer? They fall in love with several homes but lose out on them before the next day. Will they ever pull the trigger on an offer? Or will they always be a day late and a nickel short?